At about 11:30 p.m. on Friday, April 6th, a driver seriously injured 42-year-old cyclist Susanna Schick in an act of road rage in downtown Los Angeles. While riding in a green bike lane on Spring Street, the driver of a white Lexus confronted Schick and proceeded to follow the cyclist before striking her near Fourth Street, the impact fracturing her collarbone, six of her ribs, and her pelvis. The driver fled the scene of the collision.

“This is not the first case of road rage against a cyclist in Los Angeles County,” explained California personal injury attorney James Ballidis. “Few bicycling enthusiasts have forgotten the 2008 assault of two cyclists on Mandeville Canyon Road in Brentwood by a physician.”

Under California Penal Code Section 245 (a), assaulting a person with a deadly weapon or instrument other than a firearm is punishable by imprisonment for 2 to 4 years, or a fine not exceeding $10,000, or both. In addition, Vehicle Code Section 13210 indicates that the court may order a suspension of driving privileges for 6 months to 1 year for those convicted of road rage in the state.

All of us at Allen, Flatt, Ballidis, and Leslie would like to wish a full recovery to Susanna Schick, the cyclist who was seriously injured in the road rage incident last Friday night.